as in overcoming
to achieve a victory over
an Olympic swimmer who surmounted endless obstacles to achieve her goals
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Recent Examples of surmounting
After being out-skated early, the Ducks settled into their skates, surmounting both shot and goal to deficits to run the shot count to 24-17 and even the score, 2-2, through 40 minutes.
—
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Apr. 2026
The race starts and ends at the corner of Tait and Nicholson avenues, with the challenge of surmounting Cat’s Hill, which has a 23% incline.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
Thanks to older siblings and friends, permissive parents, fake IDs, and unethical sellers, some young people have always found ways to evade these bans, and similar tactics could work for surmounting a social-media ban as well.
—Keith Humphreys, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
The Apostle Paul is a go-to mentor for surmounting setbacks and overcoming daunting situations.
—Robin Hoagland, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Nov. 2025
But the eye-watering stake only led to 18 sales, averaging out at $1,500 each, surmounting to only $27,000.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
While the Seaquarium location on paper offers nothing but financial upside for Martin — a development site facing Biscayne Bay just minutes from downtown Miami — building there will require surmounting a string of legal hurdles.
—Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
However, mining Greenland’s rare earths on an industrial scale would require surmounting staggering challenges.
—Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 9 Jan. 2025
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Apr. 2026
The race starts and ends at the corner of Tait and Nicholson avenues, with the challenge of surmounting Cat’s Hill, which has a 23% incline.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
Thanks to older siblings and friends, permissive parents, fake IDs, and unethical sellers, some young people have always found ways to evade these bans, and similar tactics could work for surmounting a social-media ban as well.
—Keith Humphreys, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
The Apostle Paul is a go-to mentor for surmounting setbacks and overcoming daunting situations.
—Robin Hoagland, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Nov. 2025
But the eye-watering stake only led to 18 sales, averaging out at $1,500 each, surmounting to only $27,000.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
While the Seaquarium location on paper offers nothing but financial upside for Martin — a development site facing Biscayne Bay just minutes from downtown Miami — building there will require surmounting a string of legal hurdles.
—Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
However, mining Greenland’s rare earths on an industrial scale would require surmounting staggering challenges.
—Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 9 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surmounting
Verb
-
The Louisiana native told me that overcoming his native cuisine was half the battle in that redshirt year.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The biggest obstacle was overcoming low expectations.—
Zoya Hasan,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Trump has not endorsed a candidate, raising the likelihood of a June 16 runoff that would burn more time and money before the party can focus on defeating Ossoff.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
-
Darby Allin defended his AEW World Championship twice in one week, defeating Konosuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Owners who insist on doing it their way without mastering the existing system will often struggle.—
Seth Lederman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
These creators made that knowledge far more accessible, producing educational content on everything from building a washday routine and transitioning from relaxers to mastering styles like twist-outs.—
Annie Blay-Tettey,
Allure,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The sponsors of House Bill 1430 boldly admit that our transportation taxes have been hijacked to pay for education and health care, and that taking those funds out of the legislature’s cookie jar will create shortfalls.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
19 May 2026
-
Around 25 million lightning strikes occur in the United States every year, with most taking place during the summer months.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
For a successful but not world-conquering rapper like Rashad, making a living relies on making sure that fans continue to feel connected to him.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
Built by Blueprint Construction with structural engineering by Design Point, the East River Residence demonstrates that conquering challenging terrain sometimes means floating above it.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Denise attacked Djena again, beating her until Mohamed and their eldest son, Ahmed, pulled her off.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
After the shooting, federal authorities accused Sosa-Celis and Aljorna of beating an ICE officer with a broomstick or a snow shovel during the incident, but those charges were later dropped after an investigation into whether the agents lied about the incident.—
Rena Rowe,
The Washington Examiner,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surmounting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surmounting. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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